A Golden Boot winning performance at this summer's World Cup has earned James Rodriguez an army of new fans and international attention following a largely under-the-radar spell at AS Monaco last season. Rodriguez only scored nine league goals for the French outfit but his dazzling performances in Brazil ensured 2013-14 was his first and last campaign in Ligue 1 as Real Madrid paid a reported 80 million for his services this summer. And it's easy to see why the Spanish giants forked out such a fat wad of cash for the Colombian, who averaged a goal once every 67 minutes at the World Cup finals, finishing as the tournament's leading marksman with six goals and two assists. He played all six of his country's games during the competition and shone as the Colombians became one of its biggest surprise packages. Now considered one of the world's best young players, the 23-year-old's new-found standing in football's occasionally-fickle hierarchy has seen his rating in the FIFA franchise increase from 83 in last year's iteration to a far-loftier 86 in '15, and again, you have to say this is deserved.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
